Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Dominic Janes and Alex Houen

Combines scholarship on Christian and Islamic martyrdom to establish a fresh comparative approach to how those religions' beliefs and practices have been implicated in terrorism.

Offers perspectives from eminent scholars in a wide array of disciplines

Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Dominic Janes and Alex Houen

Description

In recent years, terrorism has become closely associated with martyrdom in the minds of many terrorists and in the view of nations around the world. In Islam, martyrdom is mostly conceived as "bearing witness" to faith and God. Martyrdom is also central to the Christian tradition, not only in the form of Christ's Passion or saints faced with persecution and death, but in the duty to lead a good and charitable life. In both religions, the association of religious martyrdom with political terror has a long and difficult history. The essays of this volume illuminate this history--following, for example, Christian martyrdom from its origins in the Roman world, to the experience of the deaths of "terrorist" leaders of the French Revolution, to parallels in the contemporary world--and explore historical parallels among Islamic, Christian, and secular traditions. Featuring essays from eminent scholars in a wide range of disciplines, Martyrdom and Terrorism provides a timely comparative history of the practices and discourses of terrorism and martyrdom from antiquity to the twenty-first century.

Part II: The French Revolution and the Invention of Terrorism5. Julia V. Douthwaite, Martyrdom, Terrorism, and the Rhetoric of Sacrifice: The cases of Marat, Robespierre, and Loiserolles6. David Andress, The Sentimental Construction of Martyrdom as Motivation in the Thought of Robespierre, 1789-17927. Ronald Schechter, Terror, Vengeance and Martyrdom in the French Revolution: The Case of the Shades8. Dominic Janes, John Foxe and British Attitudes to Martyrdom after the French Revolution

Part III: Martyrdom, Terrorism and the Modern West9. Guy Beiner, Fenianism and the Martyrdom-Terrorism Nexus in Ireland before Independence10. Akil N. Awan, Spurning "this Worldly Life": Terrorism and Martyrdom in Contemporary Britain11. Alex Houen, Martyrdom and Hostage Executions in the Iraq War: The Cases of Kenneth Bigley and Margaret Hassan12. Jolyon Mitchell, Filming the Ends of Martyrdom

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Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Dominic Janes and Alex Houen

Author Information

Dominic Janes is Reader in Cultural History and Visual Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. In addition to a spell as a lecturer at Lancaster University, he has been a research fellow at London and Cambridge universities. His latest book project is Queer Martyrdom from John Henry Newman to Derek Jarman.

Alex Houen is Senior University Lecturer in Modern Literature in the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Pembroke College. He is author of Terrorism and Modern Literature, as well as various articles and book chapters on literature and political violence.

Contributors:

Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University, Bloomington

David Andress, University of Portsmouth

Akil Awan, University of London

Guy Beiner, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Kate Cooper, University of Manchester

Julia V. Douthwaite, University of Notre Dame

Alex Houen, University of Cambridge

Dominic Janes, University of London

Jolyon Mitchell, University of Edinburgh

Susannah Monta, University of Notre Dame

Ronald Schechter, College of William and Mary

Gary Waller, SUNY Purchase

Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Dominic Janes and Alex Houen

Reviews and Awards

"This book offers an important and timely contribution to debates about terrorism. By tracing the meanings of martyrdom, sacrifice, and terrorism across a range of cultural and historical contexts, the essays in this book shed new light on the role of religion, secularism, and sovereignty in shaping our understanding of political violence."--Stephen Morton, author of States of Emergency: Colonialism, Literature and Law

Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Dominic Janes and Alex Houen

From Our Blog

By Dominic Janes and Alex Houen Martyrdom and terrorism are not new ideas, and in fact have been around for thousands of years, often closely tied to religion. We sat down with Jolyon Mitchell to discuss the topic of martyrdom and how it relates to terrorism in the past and today.